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BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A man arrested Tuesday night on Interstate 95 in Brevard County is accused of driving under the influence in a crash that hurt several other people, one of whom may need to have his leg amputated, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Elijah Searles, 29, faces charges of DUI with serious bodily injury to another, three counts of DUI with damage to persons or property, reckless driving with serious bodily injuries and DUI, records show.
A trooper responded around 10:15 p.m. to the area of mile marker 193 along southbound I-95 in Brevard County, where a Mazda3 that Searles was driving had crashed into three pedestrians who were on the right shoulder, according to his arrest report. The people had parked a total of three vehicles on the shoulder, one of which had a dead battery that the trio was working on, the report states.
A witness who claimed to have followed Searles for about 5 miles prior to the crash allegedly recorded him failing to maintain a single lane, driving onto the left shoulder before running off the roadway onto the right shoulder, regaining control of the Mazda, continuing southbound, and again veering onto the right shoulder where the other cars were stopped, the report states.
One of the pedestrians who was struck suffered a compound fracture to his right fibula, according to the report. First responders located him with a makeshift tourniquet that the two other pedestrians had made with T-shirts and belts, the report states, adding troopers were later advised that the pedestrian’s right leg “would be amputated due to the severity.”
Searles told troopers that he was traveling home from work at a Publix in Port St. John, where he said he was a pharmacist. Searles reportedly said that he wasn’t aware of hitting multiple vehicles. He went on to perform poorly on field-sobriety exercises, according to the report.
After being placed under arrest, breath samples collected from Searles around 12:40 a.m. the next day registered 0.000 BAC, at which point a urine sample was requested and obtained for a full screen, troopers said.
Searles was booked at the Brevard County Jail, where he has since posted a $22,000 bond.
Note: This map depicts the general area of this crash and not necessarily an exact location.
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